Donald Trump appeared to mix up the timeline of one of his White House projects while boasting of the installation during a speech.
Speaking from the Truman Balcony during the annual Congressional Picnic alongside first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday, the president claimed he had installed new White House flagpoles just “two months ago.”
“So I’m standing here and I’m looking at our great American flag, and it’s hard to believe, but I put that in two months ago and I put one on the other side,” Trump said.
But the timeline does not appear to match the president’s own highly publicized project.
Trump oversaw the installation of two nearly 100-foot flagpoles on the White House grounds in June 2025—almost a year ago—calling them “the best poles anywhere in the country or in the world.”
At the time, Trump spent nearly an hour watching the installation and enthusiastically discussing the project with reporters on the White House lawn.
“It’s a very exciting project to me,” he said at the time. “I love construction. I love it, I know it better than anybody.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
The flagpoles are only one piece of Trump’s broader effort to reshape the White House during his second term, with the president pursuing a series of renovations and construction projects across the historic estate.
Trump has also added gold touches throughout the Oval Office, replaced the Rose Garden lawn with a pale stone patio, swapped a decades-old walkway for black granite and pushed ahead with a controversial White House ballroom project.
He has also reportedly discussed installing a South Lawn helipad and unveiled a remodeled Lincoln Bedroom bathroom featuring black-and-white marble and gold fixtures.
The 79-year-old president returned to the flagpoles during Tuesday’s event, praising everything from their appearance to the deal he says he negotiated to get them.
“Everybody loves that pole. It’s a beauty and it represents so much,” Trump said.
“We got actually two for the price of one. We negotiated a tough deal, but we have finally, we have a really representative flagpole and flag up in front of our White House. So that’s good.”
Trump’s monologue took an even stranger turn when he suggested one of the White House’s oldest mysteries remained unsolved: which side is the front.
“We have two fronts. I’ve never figured out, nobody else has either, since, if you think about it, 1792, nobody’s figured out which is the front and which is the back of the White House,” Trump said.
“So when I’m speaking here, I say the front. And when I speak over there, I say the front.”
But, the distinction may not be quite as mysterious as Trump suggested.
The National Park Service describes the White House’s North Portico as the building’s public entrance, where presidents and first ladies traditionally greet arriving guests, while the south side faces the South Lawn which includes the landing area for Marine One.
Trump also used Tuesday’s remarks to tease another planned transformation of the White House grounds: a temporary UFC arena on the South Lawn.
The proposed UFC spectacle is just another addition to Trump’s growing list of White House makeover projects, although the first to include a cage fight on the South Lawn.
The president said an arena capable of holding roughly 4,000 to 5,000 spectators would be constructed for the event.
“In the coming months, we’re going to have some very amazing events—one of them is going to be right there where you’re standing,” Trump said.
“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets. It’s a one-of-a-kind UFC.”
